The Archived (The Archived, #1) in The Under-Hyped Readathon!

Aug 08, 2012 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-advance-copies, paranormal

Originally posted here: http://wonderly.com/the-archived-by-v...

ELIZZIENOTES:

Gargoyles!

Archive = where they store people's Histories

Narrow = buffer between Archive and Outer (where we live)

REVIEW:

With each new book Victoria Schwab blows me away. It's her second novel, and it's the best yet. I don't know how to describe her writing very well other than to say it makes me yearn for more. More of this really good writing. The kind that is full of emotion and and and... Gahh! It just makes me smile Originally posted here: http://wonderly.com/the-archived-by-v...

ELIZZIENOTES:

Gargoyles!

Archive = where they store people's Histories

Narrow = buffer between Archive and Outer (where we live)

REVIEW:

With each new book Victoria Schwab blows me away. It's her second novel, and it's the best yet. I don't know how to describe her writing very well other than to say it makes me yearn for more. More of this really good writing. The kind that is full of emotion and and and... Gahh! It just makes me smile a lot. She writes books that leave me truly satisfied as a reader.

MacKenzie's brother had recently passed away and coincidentally a few days after I read this book, my own grandpa passed away. Of course I thought to myself, "If I could wake him up and talk to his History, would I?" It's a scary thought and it's something Mac deals with throughout the book. I just felt a big connection with MacKenzie during and even as I go through my own grieving process. While she's picking through her brother's stuff and looking for any possible memory... All of it.

So basically, MacKenzie is grieving and she's living in a new home where she meets a new friend and comes across all sorts of crazy. Especially with the histories that beg her to let them see the outside world. She shows her vulnerability, but when tension is at its highest, we see her stand her ground and find the truth.

I think Victoria Schwab did a great job at having two living and breathing parents that live in close quarters with Mac. I feel like in YA, the parents get killed off or are so faceless. I'm sure it's for good reason, but I always like to applaud authors who have the parents involved in the story, even if they aren't in on the action. And Mac is a smart gal who knows how to sneak around, but knows how to respect and help her parents as they're setting up the coffee shop/bakery doo-dad in the apartment building lobby.

The Archived is a book that will be near and dear to me for years to come.

Also, that one History, the one she let stay in the Narrows, FREAKED ME OUT. Even when she was hanging out with him, I was all "AHHH I CAN'T HANDLE THIS." ...more

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Aug 26, 2011 BirdiesBookshelves rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library

I really loved this story! Completely innovative and original, can't wait to read the rest of the series. ...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Akoss rated it really liked it

It took me forever to read this book. And now that I've read it, I'm glad I waited because it allowed my excitement to die a little, which in turn lowered my expectations a bit. Otherwise... yeah.

I loved the world building. The symbiotic relationship between the Archive, the Narrows and the Other was fantastic. Each is its own thing while depending on the other two to exist. The atmosphere is gloomy, cold, dark, sometimes claustrophobic and just PERFECT.

The plot was a slow build. If it wasn't fo ...more

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Sep 04, 2014 Bettielee rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, dystopia

Every body has a story.

Every time I see someone summarize this, someone who’s only heard about it, not read it, they sound really confused. Just let me clear the air – this isn’t about ghosts or zombies but it is about death.None of this is a spoiler – if you read the blurb, it gives you this information. This a really unique world unlike anything in any other YA story, which definitely has its flaws. The world is so unique, I’ll describe that first so I can go on to the characters and plot afte Every body has a story.

Every time I see someone summarize this, someone who’s only heard about it, not read it, they sound really confused. Just let me clear the air – this isn’t about ghosts or zombies but it is about death.None of this is a spoiler – if you read the blurb, it gives you this information. This a really unique world unlike anything in any other YA story, which definitely has its flaws. The world is so unique, I’ll describe that first so I can go on to the characters and plot after.

In this world, when you die, a physical copy that looks exactly like you, called a History, is stored in the Archive. It has everything about you, all your memories and deeds, stored in the flesh of a being, but it’s not you, it doesn’t have a soul. It’s not intended to wake up and walk around and replace you. It’s an overly intricate storage file. This wealth of knowledge can only be read by Librarians. Your History lays in a shelf in the Archive, which is beyond the Narrows, a maze of corridors that acts as a buffer zone between the Archive and the Outer – which is our world. Sometimes, these Histories wake up and make into the Narrows. Keepers are tasked with recovering these Histories before they find a way out – which would require killing a Keeper and taking their key – magical keys that lead out or back to the Archive. The problem is that after histories have been awake for a little while, depending on the person, they slip and go insane. Kids are the most restless and recovering them isn’t that hard or dangerous. That is the only reason I can think of that 16 year olds can become Keepers. I mean, come on. What is it about YA and giving dangerous jobs to kids? I don’t know. And how does the History get from the quiet, safe, Archive and into the nightmare zone of the Narrows? This is never explained. Why don’t the Librarians catch them first? I don’t get that part.

Now for the meat of the story. I said death was a big part of this, and it is, beyond all the dead people on the shelves. Mackenzie Bishop is a Keeper, brought into the wonders of the Archive by her grandfather. She takes over the job after he dies. There are diary entries that I found really, well, irritating, where she’s addressing her grandfather. I found it took me out of the story a little, but they do give you important background. As usual, our special snowflake YA heroine must be the youngest ever Keeper ever approved. Because it makes sense to have a 12 year old recovering rogue Histories. However, special snowflake aside, I really like Mackenzie. She’s tough, independent, and takes no bull. And her life isn’t so great right now. Her brother Ben died in an accident and it’s threatening to tear her family apart. Her father has drawn farther into himself, and her mother can’t seem to keep still or face what’s happened. She is constantly giving off a forced cheerful vibe and changing jobs and hobbies like Mariah Carey changes clothes. Mac knows this is fake, because being a Keeper comes with special skills, including reading people and objects. She can feel emotions and she can see the past when she touches objects. This adds another layer to the story – Mac can’t stand being touched. She hasn’t learned how to block out the noise that people give off. It’s another layer between herself and her family, like the Narrows is between the Archive and the Outer. Now her mother’s new project (a coffeeshop) has taken the family to an old building that used to be a hotel.

The new location brings new people and doors into her life. All around us, invisible to most people, are doors that lead to the Narrows. A Keeper can access these with their Keeper key. Being an old building, The Coronado has a lot of doors. It’s also seeing a lot of action. All of a sudden, name after name comes up on her list, and one is even armed. How in hell did a History get a weapon? Da always told her to never use a weapon – she just had her wits and her fists. Mac does make a lot of weird decisions- and to me, the first is not telling about this guy with the knife. I mean, why wouldn’t that throw up huge alarms? Histories are bodies and clothes. They shouldn’t be armed. Why doesn’t she tell Roland?

Roland is a Librarian, and sort of her mentor. He’s always supported her, and with his cool red tennis shoes, he’s more #relatable than the other Librarians. She even comes to him with questions about the Coronado. Going against the rules, she’s researched her own room and seen some disturbing history. Roland has bent a lot of rules in mentoring Mac, including letting her sit outside her brother’s shelf, and supporting her bid to be a keeper, but her questions about the Coronado leads them to a mystery. Someone is erasing memories from Histories and even from walls and floors that have experienced things in the Outer. That’s completely against the meaning of the Archive. Roland warns her to tell no one while he looks into it.

Of course we have to have a distraction…. in the form of a love interest or two. First, along comes Wesley. With spiked hair and guyliner, he’s willing to act like a love interest, in the name of easing her parent’s concerns and getting her out of chores. Touching him sounds like rock and roll to her, drums and guitar. Then there’s Owen, a mysterious boy she meets in the Narrows, showing up just in time to help her with the guy with the knife. When she touches him, there’s no noise. He fills her with a stillness that helps push away all the pain and fear filling her life.

Yes, there are flaws of logic in the worldbuilding, but this is a really fun and fast read. I think this was one of her earlier works, the first that got a lot of attention. I have since read Vicious and This Savage Song, and they are both two of my favorite books, now. I love them. She is an even better writer than she was with this one. I cannot wait to get my copy of the 3rd book in the Darker Shade of Magic Series, because I am going to marathon that.

September 04 to 06, 2014
2nd read 1/17/17 -1/27/17 ...more

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May 26, 2014 Katelyn rated it it was amazing

This book was magical. I was hooked from page one. The newest addition to my favorites list.

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Dec 17, 2013 Mom2triplets04 rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-on-my-kindle

This book can be creepy and very confusing. I would have given it 5 stars but at some points in the book I was like what am I reading? This doesn't make sense. The end really comes together. ...more

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